Albania Gives a Hero's Welcome to Bush

[achilles]

TIRANA, Albania: President George W. Bush received a rock star's welcome Sunday in this tiny, relentlessly pro-American nation, where he promised to support Albania's campaign for NATO membership and vowed not to tolerate "endless dialogue" that would delay independence for Kosovo.

"At some point in time, sooner rather than later, you've got to say, enough is enough. Kosovo is independent," Bush said.

He added that any plan to extend talks on Kosovo - like the one proposed Friday by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France - must end with "certain independence."

The future of Kosovo, a largely Albanian breakaway province of Serbia, is of paramount interest here. Some Kosovars traveled to Tirana to join the crowd awaiting Bush. The United Nations Security Council is considering a plan for independence, but Russia objects the proposal.

On Saturday in Rome, the president agreed there should be a deadline to end the UN talks, saying "In terms of a deadline, there needs to be one - it needs to happen." But Sunday, less than 24 hours later, Bush tried to backtrack when asked when that deadline might be.

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"First of all, I don't think I called for a deadline," Bush said at an appearance with Prime Minister Sali Berisha in the courtyard of a government ministry building. He was reminded that he had.

"I did?" he asked, sounding surprised. "What exactly did I say? I said 'deadline?' O.K., yes, then I meant what I said. The question is whether or not there is going to be endless dialogue on a subject that we have made up our mind about. We believe Kosovo ought to be independent."

Bush's appearance in Albania made him the first sitting American president to visit this former Communist state. It lasted just eight hours - he left Rome Sunday morning and was headed to Sofia, Bulgaria, on Sunday night - and was the fifth stop on Bush's eight-day, six country swing through Europe.

The trip was a welcome respite for the president after Rome, where protests against him turned violent. Here in Tirana, military cannons boomed to salute Bush's arrival. Thousands jammed Scanderbeg Square in central Tirana, wearing Uncle Sam top hats in the sweltering heat, hoping to glimpse the presidential motorcade.

The superlatives flowed so freely that Bush looked a tad sheepish when Prime Minister Berisha proclaimed him "the greatest and most distinguished guest we have ever had in all times."

This largely Muslim country, population 3.6 million, is the kind of nation Bush likes best: a nascent democracy whose history includes a dramatic break with totalitarian rule.

While other East European nations are generally friendly to Bush, even if they do have some reservations about his visa policies and plans for a missile defense network in the Czech Republic and Poland, Albania is more than friendly. It is gushing.

The country, one of the poorest in Eastern Europe, has just issued three postage stamps bearing Bush's likeness, and a street in front of Parliament has been renamed for him. At the mosque in the center of town, Uncle Sam hats were stacked in a seat in the prayer room.

Even the war in Iraq is popular here.

Ilir Lamce, 37, a financial analyst who was among those waiting to see Bush, said the United States had the right and the responsibility to protect the world and freedom. "This is the right war," he said.

Sami Berisha, who drove seven hours from Kosovo to see Bush, said that he could not understand why anyone would protest the president. "I think these are crazy people," he said, "because democracy begins in America."

Albanians have a long history of fondness toward the United States, dating to President Woodrow Wilson, who kept the country from being split from its neighbors after World War I. President Bill Clinton, who tried to protect Albanians during the Kosovo War, is also remembered warmly here, as is Bush's father.

On Sunday, all that love poured in Bush's direction, and when the president jumped briefly out of his limousine during a stop near the prime minister's villa in the town of Fusche Kruje, the crowd went wild, turning a presidential visit into a virtual mosh pit.

Hands were shooting at the president from all directions, grabbing his sleeves, rubbing his graying hair. Women kissed him on both cheeks. Men jostled to get close as Secret Service agents encircled him. As he stood on the running board of his limousine, waving before ducking back in the car, a second limo pulled up from behind to protect him.

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/10/frontpage/prexy.php

[a_very_ex_STAB]

Things must be bad if he has to go to a dump like Albania in search of attaboys
:)

[achilles]

Things must be bad if he has to go to a dump like Albania in search of attaboys
:)

Its just the foreign policy of Bush Sr, continuted by Bush W. Look at America's allies in the region...Bosnians, Albanians, Kossovars, FYROMians (people from Skopje who erroneously define themselves as "Macedonians"). Look who gets shafted...Greece, Serbia... strange isnt it?

[kleos]

No strange at all . At least albanians are gratefull to the U.S for their help to Albania and Kosovo . Not as greeks , U.S feed them and now they are against the U.S . I'M sorry about serbs , till they will be russians allies they are lost.

[Bluewings]

I'M sorry about serbs , till they will be russians allies they are lost. :roll:....Sorry for what? and how is our common friendship and alliance with Russia a "bad thing" I must interpret that way as I do not understand your English... no offense of course.



Look at America's allies in the region...Bosnians, Albanians, Kossovars, FYROMians (people from Skopje who erroneously define themselves as "Macedonians") To add "Kossovars" do not exist as a ethnicity p-)


Things must be bad if he has to go to a dump like Albania in search of attaboys Not sure if you watched the CNN,BBC,CBC or any other major media coverage of this but...well...it was like the circus came to town.


At least albanians are gratefull to the U.S for their help to Albania and Kosovo That I think was beyond grateful....

I think even the US got a little uncomfortable from this show, no they prefer this type of affection beyond closed doors if you catch my drift....


BTW here is Prime Minister Kostunica's reply to Bush's remarks concerning the Serbian province of Kosovo.



US has no right to give away Serbian territory to Albanians

Belgrade, June 11, 2007 – Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica stated today that Serbia is rightfully embittered with US policy of resolving the issue of Kosovo-Metohija and that the US has no right to give away Serbia’s territory to Albanians.

In a statement to the press Kostunica stressed it is America’s right to express support to various states and nations in line with its interests, but it cannot do so by giving them something that is not theirs to give.

The US must find another way to express its fondness and affection for Albanians and not present them with Serbian territory, emphasised the Prime Minister and added that by bombing Serbia the US already made a mistake huge enough for both this century and the previous one.

A new mistake in the form of unilateral support to Kosovo-Metohija’s independence would be an act of injustice and a new exertion of violence which the Serbian people would never forget. Serbia therefore expects the US to stick to the UN Charter and not resort to legal violence, said the Prime Minister.

According to Kostunica, if America turns a deaf ear to international law, it must be known in advance that Serbia will reject and annul any form of independence of its southern province.

The Prime Minister also stressed that there will never be an independent Kosovo for Serbia, and that it will always remain a constituent and inalienable part of Serbia.Putin will not be too happy at Bush's remarks either, god knows what he is getting ready to say!! p-)

[eskrima]

No strange at all . At least albanians are gratefull to the U.S for their help to Albania and Kosovo . Not as greeks , U.S feed them and now they are against the U.S . I'M sorry about serbs , till they will be russians allies they are lost.



don't know who fed whom but Greeks were on the good side in ww2 and during the Cold War while Albanians and Bulgarians were not in both ww2 and Cold War.


Serbia also fought the Nazis and despite being communist in Cold War belonged to the non aligned states playing it a mediator between East-West. The communists won in Serbia only because Britain failed there. A lot of British officers warned Winston but he did not act. Long live Tito the result.

[Vorian]

don't know who fed whom but Greeks were on the good side in ww2 and during the Cold War while Albanians and Bulgarians were not in both ww2 and Cold War.


Besides, Greece gave much of the money back by buying expensive airplanes and military equipment.

[rwak9]

This was already posted here:
http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=113897
"President Bush Receives Hero's Welcome in Albania"

[achilles]

No strange at all . At least albanians are gratefull to the U.S for their help to Albania and Kosovo . Not as greeks , U.S feed them and now they are against the U.S . I'M sorry about serbs , till they will be russians allies they are lost.

I would kindly suggest you opened a couple of good history books before posting something as idiotic as the above.

For the record, Europe has been feeding us and not US (unless you are referring to the Marshal Plan :lol:)

Plus, ask your defense industry regarding who feeds whom. What Vorian said.

Again, get a clue on Balkan history and then post. Thanks

[szr]

Look what we have here: A Balkan flame war AND 50% of an Aegean flame war starring many of the usual suspects.

[M1A2U2]

no one is allowed to like bush

[D.U.C.K.S.]

No strange at all . At least albanians are gratefull to the U.S for their help to Albania and Kosovo . Not as greeks , U.S feed them and now they are against the U.S . I'M sorry about serbs , till they will be russians allies they are lost.Just a food for thought.. It's kinda hard to be allies of someone who has bombed you into middle age and now wants to annex your lands for independent Kosovo..

[INAT]

Just a food for thought.. It's kinda hard to be allies of someone who has bombed you into middle age and now wants to annex your lands for independent Kosovo..


Yes but we should as Christians forgive but not forget.With that said i agree with you the world is not making life easy for the Serbs as a people
i do not mean the government of Serbia because they are hurting us also.

[VanZorich]

...and they (Albanians) also stole his wris****ch, heheheheheh...talk about irony here.

see video at this link:

http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=1579

[Vorian]

Look what we have here: A Balkan flame war AND 50% of an Aegean flame war starring many of the usual suspects.



Why every discussion about the Balkans or the Aegean is automatically labeled flame war, while threads about Israel or Russia vs America, where almost every idiotic or racist view shows up are treated seriously? Of course almost every Balkan thread turns to a flamewarat some point, but comments like this contribute nothing.

[achilles]

...and they (Albanians) also stole his wris****ch, heheheheheh...talk about irony here.

see video at this link:

http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=1579

Albania's national hero....unbelievable! :lol:

[achilles]

no one is allowed to like bush

I think everyone is allowed to like Bush.

Why could he be liked, though? What will Bush be remembered for?

[eskrima]

I think everyone is allowed to like Bush.

Why could he be liked, though? What will Bush be remembered for?


for being the son of Bush senior who is a respected man:|

[cinoeye]

The emperor has spoken
His support for Kosovo independence exposes Bush's naked Balkan ambitions for all to see

Neil Clark
Wednesday June 13, 2007
The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/)

So that's that, then. After a meeting with the Italian prime minister Romano Prodi at the weekend, President Bush announced that it was time to bring the issue of Kosovan independence "to a head". In other words, Kosovo should become independent even without the approval of the UN security council. Now the emperor has spoken, is there really any point discussing the future of the disputed Serbian province any further? Well yes, actually, there is.



If Albania is one of the few countries left in the world where George Bush is still treated like a local hero then much of that enthusiasm dates back eight years to the Nato air campaign which rescued the Albanians of Kosovo from Serbian ethnic cleansing and led to the downfall of Slobodan Milosevic. But enthusiasm for Mr Bush does not travel far in the Balkans. The benefactors of Nato's action, the Kosovo Albanians, are wary of the US president's call for their country to become independent. The only formula on offer is a plan before the UN, which would create a state of "supervised independence", a concept which falls short of the autonomy the Kosovo Albanians are demanding.


The plan, devised by the UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari, is the shrewdest one yet devised to end the simmering conflict. It offers Kosovo a status which is halfway between statehood and a protectorate. All of the powers of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (Unmik) would be transferred to Kosovan authorities, but someone called an international civilian representative would have powers to correct and annul laws, sack officials and vet appointments, and his deputy would command a large EU mission to bolster the police, prisons, justice system and border guards. There would also be a peacekeeping force.
For the 130,000 Serbs scattered all over Kosovo, the Ahtisaari plan would offer safeguards - five Serb-ruled municipalities, which would have the right to link with each other, the right to get financial help from Serbia, protection for Serbian Orthodox monasteries and additional parliamentary seats. Both the multi-ethnic formula of the new state and its dependence on devolution run counter to Kosovo Albanian wishes. Serbian and Russian objections are even more fundamental. Kosovan independence would strip Serbia of 15% of its territory, including its most sacred historical monuments and sites. It would flout international law and create a dangerous precedent for secessionist causes all over the world. The problem is that the only real alternative to the UN plan is partition, under which Serbs remaining in Kosovo would lose out even more. More than 60% of them live south of the Ibar river, which would form the new border, and they would not be able to take their monasteries with them. Partition would see another bout of ethnic cleansing and the roads filling up again with tractors. The UN plan can be modified to meet some Serbian objections, but it represents the best hope for peace, even though it would be an imposed settlement. Serbia must understand that it has lost Kosovo for good, but the Kosovo Albanians must acknowledge that Europe will not tolerate any more Balkan pogroms.


What is at stake is not just the illegal seizure from Serbia of the cradle of its national history, and rewarding the campaign of violence by ex-KLA members which has seen an estimated 200,000 Serbs, Roma, Turks and other non-Albanian groups fleeing or being driven from the province since 1999. There is also the question of whether one dangerous and globally lawless state, the US of George Bush, has the right to redraw the map of the world in any way it chooses.
Bush is pressing for "independence" for Kosovo, and the word needs to be in inverted commas as the Kosovo the US has in mind will be no more "independent" than Iraq or Afghanistan - though not out of concern for Kosovan Albanians, or a passionate belief in self-determination. Contrast Washington's stance on Kosovo with its position on the pro-Russian breakaway provinces in Georgia and Moldova, whose claims for statehood they regularly dismiss. Rather, Bush is acting because this is the final stage in what has been called the west's "strategic concept" - the destruction of the genuinely independent and militarily strong state of Yugoslavia and its replacement with a series of weak and divided World Bank-Nato protectorates.
Many will support the independence of Kosovo on simple grounds of self-determination: about 90% of Kosovans desire separation from Serbia. But Kosovo is no simple case. Given the recent history of the area, the minority rights of the non-Albanian population must also be a central concern. And the verdict of the Minority Rights Group that "nowhere is there such a level of fear for so many minorities that they will be harassed simply for who they are...nowhere else in Europe is at such a high risk of ethnic cleansing occurring in the near future - or even a risk of genocide" hardly inspires confidence in the future.
Furthermore, it is difficult to see how the creation of another new state in the Balkans will not destabilise the region further. Albanian separatists both in Montenegro and in Macedonia, where military hostilities took place as recently as 2001, will be encouraged. Serbia will face further disintegration: Albanians in the south of the country are keen to be included in a new Kosovo, while Hungarian demands for self-determination in Vojvodina are also likely to intensify.
Far from being concerned about this fragmentation, Washington encourages it. "Liberating" Kosovo from direct Belgrade control, achieved by the illegal 1999 bombardment of the rump Yugoslavia, has already brought rich pickings for US companies in the shape of the privatisation of socially owned assets.
Even more important, it has enabled the construction of Camp Bondsteel, the US's biggest "from scratch" military base since the Vietnam war, which jealously guards the route of the trans-Balkan Ambo pipeline, and guarantees western control of Caspian Sea oil supplies. The camp, which includes a detention facility used to house those detained during Nato operations in Kosovo, was described by Alvaro Gil-Robles, the human rights envoy of the Council of Europe, as a "smaller version of Guantánamo" following a visit in November 2005. To guarantee US hegemony in the region, it is essential that Kosovo is severed permanently from Serbia - a country which, with its strong historical links to Russia, is never likely to be as obedient a servant as the empire demands.
Since the end of the cold war, Russia has allowed the US to surround it with military bases and, through interference in the electoral process, bring to power governments ready to do its bidding. But the tide is turning. The US's attempt to engineer another "colour-coded" revolution in Belarus backfired spectacularly last year and, buoyed up by oil revenues, an increasingly assertive Russia is challenging the empire's Drang nach Osten. And at last week's G8 summit, President Putin reiterated his support for Serbia and his opposition to Kosovan "independence". Let's hope he keeps his word. For those who believe the best hope for peace and progress for humankind is the derailing of the US juggernaut, it is imperative that on the issue of Kosovo, the bear makes a stand.

[INAT]

The emperor has spoken
His support for Kosovo independence exposes Bush's naked Balkan ambitions for all to see

Neil Clark
Wednesday June 13, 2007
The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/)

So that's that, then. After a meeting with the Italian prime minister Romano Prodi at the weekend, President Bush announced that it was time to bring the issue of Kosovan independence "to a head". In other words, Kosovo should become independent even without the approval of the UN security council. Now the emperor has spoken, is there really any point discussing the future of the disputed Serbian province any further? Well yes, actually, there is.



If Albania is one of the few countries left in the world where George Bush is still treated like a local hero then much of that enthusiasm dates back eight years to the Nato air campaign which rescued the Albanians of Kosovo from Serbian ethnic cleansing and led to the downfall of Slobodan Milosevic. But enthusiasm for Mr Bush does not travel far in the Balkans. The benefactors of Nato's action, the Kosovo Albanians, are wary of the US president's call for their country to become independent. The only formula on offer is a plan before the UN, which would create a state of "supervised independence", a concept which falls short of the autonomy the Kosovo Albanians are demanding.


The plan, devised by the UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari, is the shrewdest one yet devised to end the simmering conflict. It offers Kosovo a status which is halfway between statehood and a protectorate. All of the powers of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (Unmik) would be transferred to Kosovan authorities, but someone called an international civilian representative would have powers to correct and annul laws, sack officials and vet appointments, and his deputy would command a large EU mission to bolster the police, prisons, justice system and border guards. There would also be a peacekeeping force.
For the 130,000 Serbs scattered all over Kosovo, the Ahtisaari plan would offer safeguards - five Serb-ruled municipalities, which would have the right to link with each other, the right to get financial help from Serbia, protection for Serbian Orthodox monasteries and additional parliamentary seats. Both the multi-ethnic formula of the new state and its dependence on devolution run counter to Kosovo Albanian wishes. Serbian and Russian objections are even more fundamental. Kosovan independence would strip Serbia of 15% of its territory, including its most sacred historical monuments and sites. It would flout international law and create a dangerous precedent for secessionist causes all over the world. The problem is that the only real alternative to the UN plan is partition, under which Serbs remaining in Kosovo would lose out even more. More than 60% of them live south of the Ibar river, which would form the new border, and they would not be able to take their monasteries with them. Partition would see another bout of ethnic cleansing and the roads filling up again with tractors. The UN plan can be modified to meet some Serbian objections, but it represents the best hope for peace, even though it would be an imposed settlement. Serbia must understand that it has lost Kosovo for good, but the Kosovo Albanians must acknowledge that Europe will not tolerate any more Balkan pogroms.


What is at stake is not just the illegal seizure from Serbia of the cradle of its national history, and rewarding the campaign of violence by ex-KLA members which has seen an estimated 200,000 Serbs, Roma, Turks and other non-Albanian groups fleeing or being driven from the province since 1999. There is also the question of whether one dangerous and globally lawless state, the US of George Bush, has the right to redraw the map of the world in any way it chooses.
Bush is pressing for "independence" for Kosovo, and the word needs to be in inverted commas as the Kosovo the US has in mind will be no more "independent" than Iraq or Afghanistan - though not out of concern for Kosovan Albanians, or a passionate belief in self-determination. Contrast Washington's stance on Kosovo with its position on the pro-Russian breakaway provinces in Georgia and Moldova, whose claims for statehood they regularly dismiss. Rather, Bush is acting because this is the final stage in what has been called the west's "strategic concept" - the destruction of the genuinely independent and militarily strong state of Yugoslavia and its replacement with a series of weak and divided World Bank-Nato protectorates.
Many will support the independence of Kosovo on simple grounds of self-determination: about 90% of Kosovans desire separation from Serbia. But Kosovo is no simple case. Given the recent history of the area, the minority rights of the non-Albanian population must also be a central concern. And the verdict of the Minority Rights Group that "nowhere is there such a level of fear for so many minorities that they will be harassed simply for who they are...nowhere else in Europe is at such a high risk of ethnic cleansing occurring in the near future - or even a risk of genocide" hardly inspires confidence in the future.
Furthermore, it is difficult to see how the creation of another new state in the Balkans will not destabilise the region further. Albanian separatists both in Montenegro and in Macedonia, where military hostilities took place as recently as 2001, will be encouraged. Serbia will face further disintegration: Albanians in the south of the country are keen to be included in a new Kosovo, while Hungarian demands for self-determination in Vojvodina are also likely to intensify.
Far from being concerned about this fragmentation, Washington encourages it. "Liberating" Kosovo from direct Belgrade control, achieved by the illegal 1999 bombardment of the rump Yugoslavia, has already brought rich pickings for US companies in the shape of the privatisation of socially owned assets.
Even more important, it has enabled the construction of Camp Bondsteel, the US's biggest "from scratch" military base since the Vietnam war, which jealously guards the route of the trans-Balkan Ambo pipeline, and guarantees western control of Caspian Sea oil supplies. The camp, which includes a detention facility used to house those detained during Nato operations in Kosovo, was described by Alvaro Gil-Robles, the human rights envoy of the Council of Europe, as a "smaller version of Guantánamo" following a visit in November 2005. To guarantee US hegemony in the region, it is essential that Kosovo is severed permanently from Serbia - a country which, with its strong historical links to Russia, is never likely to be as obedient a servant as the empire demands.
Since the end of the cold war, Russia has allowed the US to surround it with military bases and, through interference in the electoral process, bring to power governments ready to do its bidding. But the tide is turning. The US's attempt to engineer another "colour-coded" revolution in Belarus backfired spectacularly last year and, buoyed up by oil revenues, an increasingly assertive Russia is challenging the empire's Drang nach Osten. And at last week's G8 summit, President Putin reiterated his support for Serbia and his opposition to Kosovan "independence". Let's hope he keeps his word. For those who believe the best hope for peace and progress for humankind is the derailing of the US juggernaut, it is imperative that on the issue of Kosovo, the bear makes a stand.


Wow this is coming from the Guardian.I am amazed all of that is true except for the EX-kla .They have not been disbanded just given a diffrent name. And this is the first time I have read a Western news source mention the pipeline.Good find Cinoeye

[Russian_dude]

So what happened to Albanians being "victims". It seems like everybody expects them to ethnically cleanse the Serbs. Will NATO bomb Kosovo this time or will they be exposed as the fraud that they are.

[ren0312]

Well the reason I don't support independence for Kosovo is that simply because it would open a can of worms for countries fighting secessionist movements, including my own.

[achilles]

Independence and self-determination is good, but Kosovo is a rather complicated case.

I do not advocate Kosovo's independence for the following reasons:
- Kosovo is a holly place for the Serbs. Albanians may have been around for a long time but for the Serbs, Kosovo is a symbol.
- An independent Kosovo will enhance the "Albanian axis" in the Balkans, and given Albanian ultranationalism and well hidden expansionism, this will not exactly promote peace and stability in the Balkans (This is not what the US want to achieve whatsoever).
- The Albanians feel that the whole world owes them for some reason. They act and behave as is they are the only victims of history. Give them something like Kosovo, which is not rightfully theirs, and they will ask for more. They got Northern Hepirus, which has been a Greek land ever since the dawn of time, and they never ceased making claims for Southern Hepirus, the Northwestern part of continental Greece.


An independent Kosovo might serve America's "divide and conquer" purposes but it will not promote peace in the Balkans.

I am glad Russia is opposing the plan, although i have the feeling that Putin is ready to make concessions.

[Bluewings]

Well said achilles.

Yes it really did shut the US up when the Georgian provinces openly said they are watching Kosovo closely and preparing to follow despite the claims from the contact group advocating independence that it would do no such thing...

I am not surprised by their reaction towards Bush and America in general. Take note USA, Albanians are famous for this "show of gratitude" towards anyone with great power.

research the history of Albania and you will see how they leap frog from one super power after the other, and when its no longer a super power they give you a spit in the face and a so long forever.

They've done that with the Ottoman Empire, German/Italy axis WW2, USSR, China and now USA.

Who's next I wonder....?


I am glad Russia is opposing the plan, although i have the feeling that Putin is ready to make concessions. :) I wouldn't worry about Putin my friend, He's a true leader and model for others. Kostunica just returned from St Petersburg with a very confident look. Not to mention Putin's confirmed stand for Serbia.

Russia is holding its ground and for good reason. ;)

[cinoeye]

Since I Love flags, you should see this Bushomania flag-

[asch]

Since I Love flags, you should see this Bushomania flag-




hahaha, khm, errr, nice flags.
p-)

[Flamming_Python]

Here comes an interesting article from The Exile: http://www.exile.ru/2007-May-18/snapping_up_kosovo_for_a_song.html



Last weekend the Eurovision song contest was unexpectedly won by a Serbian entrant, a butchy, heavyset brunette girl. You thought American Idol was a silly and comical affair? It's a grim Methodist sermon compared to the freakshow that is Eurovision, which has been increasingly dominated by ever more ridiculous Eastern European bands, degenerating into something of a drunken gypsy carnival. This year it was over-the-top even by its own surreal standards. Second place went to a popular Ukrainian transvestite, "Verka Serdyuchka," dressed in layers of foil, a sort of clownish parody of 70s glam-rock. The Russian entry, yet another trio of cute girls, a ridiculously overused format in the ex-USSR pop scene, came in third.

One can only wonder why this circus, a playground of little Eastern European principalities, where votes are largely decided by a country's neighborhood and its ethnic diasporas, remains popular throughout all of Europe, as well as much of the Middle East. And yet the victory of the Serbian crooner has a certain symbolic significance more serious than this show. Many Russians like to see yet another conspiracy here in line with the 2004 victory by the Ukrainian singer Ruslana, which preceded the "Orange Revolution" that brought to power politicians largely hostile to Russia. This year the Serbian victory is viewed by some as a sweetener for the bitter pill of Kosovo's impending independence, which could be decided in the next couple of months. The Eurovision-2007 took place in Finland, another coincidence, considering that it was Finnish diplomat Martti Ahtisaari who played the most prominent role in managing (or mismanaging) the Kosovo crisis since the war of 1999. I don't usually buy conspiracy theories, and the outcome of Eurovision is often so chaotic and silly that orchestrating the results is hardly possible. But still...

After spending most of the last few years on the backburner, Serbia is again in the news. This week the UN Security Council starts debating the future of Kosovo, a separatist enclave that most western powers want to be independent, while Serbia itself, and so far Russia its historical ally, firmly oppose independence.

Kosovo got its current status as a semi-independent Albanian-dominated territory, administered by the UN, after the spring 1999 NATO bombing campaign. Most Serb civilians have since been expelled from Kosovo. What remains are small isolated enclaves, protected by the international forces. Although much of the war damage was restored, Kosovo remains an economically depressed region, with high unemployment, gang violence, and trafficking of drugs and flesh.


The Eurovision Song contest is now responsible for 57% of all nightmares in the Eurozone.

That war was no less based on lies and false pretense than the Iraq war. There is a columnist in the excellent online magazine "Asia Times" who, writing under the name of Spengler, recently drew attention to American and EU nastiness in this whole affair, in an article called "Inconvenient Serbs." He adresses the conflict in the wider context of the "Clash of Civilizations" which is certainly relevant here:

If Serbia and Russia draw a line in the sand over the independence of Kosovo, we may observe the second occasion in history when a Muslim advance on Europe halted on Serbian soil. The first occurred in 1456, three years after the fall of Constantinople, when Sultan Mehmed II was thrown back from the walls of Belgrade, 'The White City,' by Hungarian and Serb defenders. The Siege of Belgrade 'decided the fate of Christendom,' wrote the then Pope Calixtus III. Not for nothing did J.R.R Tolkien name his fictional stronghold of Minas Tirith 'The White City'...

Clinton, then Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and UN ambassador Richard Holbrooke deluded themselves that they could cash in the chips earned in Kosovo at the negotiating table in the Middle East. The neo-conservatives cheered the Clinton bombing campaign, believing perhaps that any American show of force was better than no show of force.

Kosovo Albanians were also in the news last week, and for the reason many U.S. politicians would rather forget. On May 7, six Kosovo Albanian nationals (euphemistically said to be from "the Former Yugoslavia" by most American media outlets) were arrested in New Jersey in connection with a plot to penetrate Fort Dix and kill as many American soldiers as possible. Just as hypocritically, most of the media failed to mention the reason for which Fort Dix was chosen. It was there, at Fort Dix, that most of the Kosovo Albanian refugees were brought in during the campaign of the 1999. The Clinton administration (indeed, Hillary Clinton herself) on several occasion bragged about "generous American hand" helping poor Kosovars, oppressed by the Serbian savages. Some of the "Fort Dix Six" plotters were once those very same refugees. At least one of them was a fighter in the KLA, the ethnic Albanian guerilla army, firt considered a terrorist organization by the US State Department right up to the eve of the Kosovo war.

This wasn't the first time in recent American history that gratitude was repaid in such a manner. Osama bin Laden was to a large extent the CIA invention for the purpose of fighting Russians in Afghanistan. This pattern persists: again and again the American establishment sought the support of various Islamist factions against Russians or Serbs, their fellow Orthodox Christians. There isn't a single case of the Western establishment ever supporting the Russian point of view in disputes with other post-Soviet nations, and during the Yugoslav wars of the 90's; exceedingly brutal on all sides, only Serbs were vilified.

And yet neither Russians nor Serbs have attacked America. There was never a case of "Slavic terrorism" in the U.S., either in the Soviet or the post-Soviet times. Hollywood produces innumerable action flicks about "Russian Mafia" with nuclear bombs, as well as a crazy Serb in the Peacemaker, but it in reality nothing like this ever happened.

Now Western governments demand independence for Kosovo, and are pushing Russia not to veto Kosovo's independence in the UN Security Council. There is absolutely no reason why Russia should give in to these demands. The U.S. and EU want to appease the "Muslim street" (in light of their own misadventures in the Middle East) at the expense of the Orthodox Christians like Serbians and Russians? Thanks, but no thanks; what's in it for us? It is up to Russia to explain to them in no uncertain terms that this won't fly.

Full statehood for Kosovo will be clearly the justification of the further violence and ethnic cleansing. The European and American media want you to believe that somehow, if Albanians won't get immediate independence, then the "hopes of the poor long-suffering Kosovo Albanians will be betrayed," and the whole region will again explode in violence, which they obviously view as somewhat justified at least. These are the same people who have a ****-fit over Russia's support for separatists in Abkhazia or Transdniester, as well as several other similar territories which also are demanding independence. The hypocrisy is staggering. Only those peoples sympathetic to Russia don't deserve independence and are considered dangerous separatists, despite the fact that there has been relative peace in their statelets for years now.

Today more than a hundred thousand ethnic Albanians live inside Serbia proper, for the most part peacefully and without being brutally harassed. The same goes for Transdniester, where many ethnic Moldavians live. Despite a short nasty war in early 90s relations today are fairly amicable: there is a lot of intermarriage between Moldovans and Russians or Ukrainians, and economic contacts and trade between Transdniester and Moldova are growing. Transdniester in fact agreed to downgrade their independence demands to accepting broad autonomy within the Moldovan state, according to a plan brokered by Russia in 2003. Eventually the Moldovan government rejected even that, under pressure from the EU. In contrast, Kosovo Albanians petulantly reject anything short of total independence, yet somehow the Western governments are in complete sympathy with them.

Occasionally Kosovo explodes into renewed violence, such as in March 2004, when almost 40 people were killed. Albanians attacked several dwindling Serb settlements, burned ancient churches, looted stores and supplies provided by the NATO-led peacekeeping force. If not for the presence of these peacekeepers, the number of victims would have been much higher.

In contrast to that, for example, ethnic Russians living in the Baltic republics were incomparably more peaceful in spite of suffering serious discrimination. The first large-scale disturbances in post-Soviet times occurred in Tallinn two weeks ago, and only after the police broke up a peaceful demonstration of Russians defending the memorial to the war time dead, which the Estonian government viewed as a "symbol of occupation." And that was enough for the Western media like the vile Economist, to squeal about a "Kremlin-orchestrated plot" that needs to be decisively defeated.

There is no point in Russia legitimizing this nonsense. Relations with the U.S. and Europe are clearly deteriorating, as the West has no clue how to deal with a stronger Russia that can stand up for itself and say "No!", and the Western governments have only themselves to blame for that.

[GromGrad]

Ah Albanians, life's greatest mystery. Planing a terrorist attack in Fort Dix one day and hailing Bush the next day, shows you something about them. Slavs and Islam just don't mix. It's two pounds of crazy in a one pound bag.

[Flamming_Python]

Ah Albanians, life's greatest mystery. Planing a terrorist attack in Fort Dix one day and hailing Bush the next day, shows you something about them. Slavs and Islam just don't mix. It's two pounds of crazy in a one pound bag.

Albanians aren't Slavs :)

But you know, since they stole Bush's watch, you got to give them some respect :D

[zg18]

That war was no less based on lies and false pretense than the Iraq war. There is a columnist in the excellent online magazine "Asia Times" who, writing under the name of Spengler, recently drew attention to American and EU nastiness in this whole affair, in an article called "Inconvenient Serbs." He adresses the conflict in the wider context of the "Clash of Civilizations" which is certainly relevant here:


http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ID17Ak01.html

Here is that article.

[mp5sd]

Ah Albanians, life's greatest mystery. Planing a terrorist attack in Fort Dix one day and hailing Bush the next day, shows you something about them. Slavs and Islam just don't mix. It's two pounds of crazy in a one pound bag.

why don't u talk about Albanian soldiers in Iraq ands Afghanistan??? there are three suspected Albanians for this terrorist attack, and frankly this is the very first case I listen about Albanians invovled in Islamic fundamentalism.
And Albanians are not slavic Nation, slavic nations come in Europe with the so called barbaric invasions.